BLM Makes Progress on Elk Butte Wildfire

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) High Desert District and Sweetwater County, Wyo., have made great strides in fighting the Elk Butte wildfire approximately 30 miles south of Rock Springs, Wyo., on Highway 430.

Crews worked well into the night of Sept. 5 and spent today securing the perimeter and starting mop-up operations. If progress continues as anticipated, containment will increase to an estimated 75 percent by 10 p.m. tonight. The fire has burned approximately 1,001 acres of grass, sagebrush and juniper in steep, rugged terrain on BLM lands; the cause remains under investigation.

Resources on the wildfire include a Type II helicopter, eight smokejumpers out of Boise, Idaho, and Alaska, the Juniper Valley Type II crew out of Rifle, Colo., two BLM Type VI engines and two Sweetwater County engines and a water tender. If goals and objectives are met today, resources will begin demobilizing from the incident tomorrow.

Fire activity is visible from Highway 430 and motorists are advised not to drive into smoke obscured areas. The public is asked to use caution or avoid the area entirely as fire behavior can change suddenly and fire spread is unpredictable if high winds develop.

The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land, the most of any Federal agency. This land, known as the National System of Public Lands, is primarily located in 12 Western states, including Alaska. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. The BLM's mission is to manage and conserve the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations under our mandate of multiple-use and sustained yield. In Fiscal Year 2013, the BLM generated $4.7 billion in receipts from public lands.